Cocktailian Ingredient Trends

[slkinsey]

One great result of the cocktail revival has been the recent explosion of new ingredients, the importation/distribution of heretofore unavailable ingredients and the revival of defunct ingredients.

To make a short list of things that one couldn't get even as recently as 5 or 6 years ago:

Bonded Applejack
Creme de Violette
St. Germain
Pimento Dram
(Real) Sloe Gin
Countless bitters
Batavia Arrack
Others I'm sure I'm forgetting
Swedish Punsch on the way (?)

One thing that strikes me about many of these ingredients (other than the thanks we owe Eric Seed) is the extent to which these have experienced a fairly rapid rise and subsequently rapid decline in cocktailian popularity -- except Laird's bonded, which is really in a separate category because it is a base spirit.

I wonder why this is.

I remember there was a time when it seemed like every other cocktail had Creme de Violette in it. Walking into a bar was a bit like walking into a store selling whatever brand of perfumed bath salts my mother used in the 70s. Every menu seemed to have at least one Creme de Violette drink on it, many of them featuring a pretty heavy dose of the stuff. Now? Not all that much. Same thing with St. Germain, Pimento Dram and Plymouth Sloe Gin.

For many of these, I suppose it cen be attributed to the somewhat more limited than originally supposed versatility and utility of the spirit. As Andy Arrington said over on the Pimento Dram thread, "I find the versatility of allspice liqueur to have been drastically exaggerated from a few years back when it was being billed as 'the most important liqueur in the world.' "

And that's part of it, of course. Regardless of what we might like to think, it's not like Creme de Violette and Pimento Dram are going to take the place of Cointreau and Maraschino Liqueur any time soon.

In other cases, I think it has resulted from short-sighted overpricing by the manufacturers. Plymouth could be making a lot more money off their Sloe Gin by selling it at half what they sell it for now and moving three times more volume. This is a product that really can be used in large quantities as a base, or in smaller quantities as a reasonably unobtrusive "background booster" of red fruit. But at the incredibly high prices they are asking for the stuff (more than Cointreau!), bartenders and home cocktailians are reduced to holding on to a few precious bottles and stingily measuring it out into a few drinks every now and again.


Thoughts? Observations? What's going to be the next big thing? And how long will it last? Do we think there really is a currently-unavailable or defunct ingredient that could take a place alongside products like Cointreau and Luxardo Maraschino? What products would we most like to see imported? I've been wanting Get Creme de Menthe for some time, and very much look forward to Eric's Jamaican rum.

[bmdaniel]

Absinthe is one that should probably be on the list, and that you could argue is in (or close to) the maraschino and cointreau category.

[jmfangio]

Off the top of my head, I'd add the variety of bitters available today. I don't quite know how long the Fee Brothers Orange Bitters have been on the market, but I don't think that five years ago you could expect to easily find them, much less walk into a liquor store and have a choice among several brands. Then, of course, there are the new flavors of bitters, and recreations of defunct products.

Isn't there a Forbidden Fruit liqueur recreation in the works? I'm curious to see how that one will be, and how it'll be received.

[vice]

A child gets a new toy and won't put it down for a week. Come back in a month and it's gathering dust in the corner. Sam's observations are evidence that people may grow older, but certain parts of our character always remain the same. Not that this should be surprising to anyone. I think a large part of the rapid rise phenomenon is excitement for what's new, and we've been really lucky over the past few years to have a whole lot of new to get excited about. When I pick up a new ingredient, I'll often use it quite a bit at first, to get acquainted with its features. The equally rapid decline in popularity could stem from (a) fatigue due to over-saturation or (b) moving on to focus on the next new thing.

As an aside, there are a few places out there that sell Plymouth sloe gin at a more reasonable price. Sam's Wine has it for $30, which as far as I can tell is about 30% less than most other retailers. That makes it a lot more affordable to use more liberally (as it should be).

[daisy17]

I'm not sure I agree about the St. Germain. Certainly it's not as widespread as it was when it became available, but I'm not sure everyone's done with it.

I will happily wave goodbye to Batavia Arrack though. Can't stand the stuff.

I think there's been a increase in the use of amari in cocktails in the past year or two but I don't know if it amounts to a trend, and it's not a new ingredient. Regardless, I applaud it wholeheartedly. I would love to see more variety in what's available here, since I tend to see the same 8 bottles everywhere.

[KD1191]

The ingredients you mention are invaluable products, and so I find it not at all surprising that they were whole-heartedly accepted and evangelized when they came on the scene. Every Cocktailian wanted to play with them, like having a new toy on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, much like that toy, they either broke or were worn-out from overuse. I noticed a particular backlash against St. Germain, when it seemed every other cocktail featured a dash or two and, as you mention, the price climbed ever higher (to meet the demand?).

That said, many of these ingredients were either non-existent or bit players during the golden age. As the classics, and riffs thereon, have been the primary focus of much of the revival (outside of some exceptional enclaves), it would seem natural that such ingredients would not have the staying power to match their initial success.

"What's going to be the next big thing? And how long will it last?"

Unless I blinked, and it's already over, tea-infusion seems somewhat new and quite popular.

"What products would we most like to see imported?"

Elixir Végétal, or through some time travel original Amer Picon.

[slkinsey]

I'm not sure I agree about the St. Germain.  Certainly it's not as widespread as it was when it became available, but I'm not sure everyone's done with it.

I don't think "everyone's done" with any of these ingredients. I'm just saying that all you heard about for a year was St. Germain, and now that doesn't seem to be the case. Of course, there are certain bartenders at certain bars who have a professional relationship with St. Germain, and while I don't think they're contractually constrained to create lots of St. Germain cocktails for their bars, their natural familiarity with the product does make it more likely that they will create with it. I should hasten to add that I don't think this is a bad thing at all. I merely point out that if you frequent one of these bars you might not have noticed the drop-off in the ubiquity of St. Germain cocktails that has happened over the last year or so.

I will happily wave goodbye to Batavia Arrack though.  Can't stand the stuff.

Just like these other products, I don't think Batavia Arrack is going anywhere. I do think, however, that when it first came out there were a lot of bartenders who were using rather large amounts of it in cocktails. I think this was a bit of a "push the envelope" practice to begin with (which, again, I would suggest is a good thing for bartenders to do), but I don't think it was ever going to be sustainable. In the meantime, the main utility of Batavia Arrack (small percentage use in punches, as a base for Swedish Punsch, etc.) is still as valid as ever.

"What products would we most like to see imported?"

Elixir Végétal, or through some time travel original Amer Picon.

I don't know if you've tried Elixir Végétal. I have. It's pretty far down on the list of things I'd like to see over here. Not all that terribly interesting IMO.

Edited August 18, 2009 by slkinsey (log)

[KD1191]

"What products would we most like to see imported?"

Elixir Végétal, or through some time travel original Amer Picon.

I don't know if you've tried Elixir Végétal. I have. It's pretty far down on the list of things I'd like to see over here. Not all that terribly interesting IMO.

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I love all things Chartreuse, and am planning a trip that involves driving through Voiron next spring to visit the monastery. I find the E.V. mesmerizing, but have never had the chance to play with it in cocktails. I guess I don't see a reason why it couldn't play the same role that a dash of Absinthe plays in 'improving' many drinks.

Amer Picon has been very high on my list since I had an amuse at l'Arnsbourg in the Vosges that was a molecular-type riff on Picon bière.

What would be on your list?

[slkinsey]

The things on my wish list are perhaps more prosaic to some. I would like to see 100 proof Old Overholt, and in general more examples of quality rye whiskey in the $20-per-750 range. I would like to see Get brand Creme de Menthe. I would like to see Gilka Kummel over here again. I would like to see an Old New England-style rum. I would like to see yellow (aged) gin that's not horribly-overpriced Kensington. I would like to see far more genever of quality. I would like to see the old Kina Lillet. I would like to see a real Jamaica rum. I would like to see Swedish Punsch over here. Those last two look like Eric Seed is making happen, and Cocchi Americano (which he's also bringing over) is not a bad stand-in for Kina Lillet. The others, I don't think have much chance of happening.

[Kent Wang]

What's the deal with Jamaica rum? Are the ones on the market now not good, or not the same style as used in the olden days?

I certainly believe whatever Haus Alpenz is importing is going to be awesome, just curious how it's different.

[shantytownbrown]

  I would like to see an Old New England-style rum. 

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is this to what you refer?, i have not tried it, but is available in my shop in connecticut.

i tried their gin, not bad, but not memorable

http://www.berkshiremountaindistillers.com...hp?product_id=1

[slkinsey]

What's the deal with Jamaica rum? Are the ones on the market now not good, or not the same style as used in the olden days?

"Jamaica rum" and "rum made in Jamaica" are not the same thing. The old style associated with the island was a potent, funky spirit. Think Wray and Nephew rather than Appleton Estate. If you imagine the dark, funky, potent pungency, it contextualizes some of the comments by Charles Baker to the effect that "9 out of 10 ladies does not care for Jamaica rum."

  I would like to see an Old New England-style rum.

is this to what you refer?, i have not tried it, but is available in my shop in connecticut.

i tried their gin, not bad, but not memorable

http://www.berkshiremountaindistillers.com...hp?product_id=1

I have no idea whether that would be what I mean or not. But I don't think so.

New England used to be one of the top rum-producing areas of the world. In particular, Medford Rum (from the City of Medford, not "Medford Brand Rum") was very highly regarded and considered by some the best there was to be had. Dave writes about this a bit in Imbibe! (I think that's where he wrote about it). Medium-dark, smooth, strong, well-aged, fairly high proof I'd think.

[Splificator]

I will happily wave goodbye to Batavia Arrack though.  Can't stand the stuff.

Don't say that! There are those of us to whom the stuff is an essential staple. It was hard enough to get it back. I'd rather not have to have a case of it airfreighted over from Germany every time I want to mix up a bowl of Regent's Punch. A bowl here and a bowl there and soon you're spending real money.

That said, Jonathan Swift couldn't stand the stuff either, so you're in good company.

[slkinsey]

Regent's Punch. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I do sometimes wonder what it would cost to get a bunch of people together on an order to have various bottles of coveted unobtanium (in the US) shipped over.

[daisy17]

I will happily wave goodbye to Batavia Arrack though.  Can't stand the stuff.

Don't say that! There are those of us to whom the stuff is an essential staple. It was hard enough to get it back. I'd rather not have to have a case of it airfreighted over from Germany every time I want to mix up a bowl of Regent's Punch. A bowl here and a bowl there and soon you're spending real money.

That said, Jonathan Swift couldn't stand the stuff either, so you're in good company.

←

I suspected this would get your attention (embarrassing ...). Every time I think about how much I hate arrack I have to come to terms with the fact that I'm disappointing Dave Wondrich - no joke, I think of you every time it comes up. I call it the cilantro of spirits. But I got over my cilantro aversion by eating a ton of it in Mexico. Regent's Punch, you say?

[jmfangio]

Thinking about this some more, to the list of products I'd like to see revived, add Kina Lillet (or at least bring Cocchi Aperitivo Americano back to the US).

For the life of me I can't understand why Suntory doesn't sell Hermes Violet in the US. And I'd love to see Plymouth Navy Strength in the US, but with the dramatic rise in the price of Plymouth over the last year, I'm scared to think of how much it would cost.

Regarding Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal, I have a bottle that was brought back by a friend who went to France last year. I don't think that it has much use as a cocktail ingredient (I played around with it a little, without much success), but a few drops on a sugar cube is really, really lovely.

[thirtyoneknots]

Many good thoughts...I'll just echo the notion that a lot if not most of the cocktail innovation, and thus demand for exotic spirits and liqueurs, is coming from a relatively limited handful of top bars in big cities, and these places generally have to work on keeping pour cost down. When the prices are so high for many of these things it limits how much people want ot use them in bars to help come up with drinks, and then there are fewer recipes floating around and less demand and I'm honestly just afraid that this could result in a feedback loop that causes some of our hardest-won items to disappear again.

The observation that a lot of these things, like Pimento Dram, were never really all that important to the world cocktail scene to begin with, is a good point and while it's always great to have as many colors on your palette as possible, it also has to be expected that if you're not using the muave very much then it's going to dry up...and so goes Forbidden Fruit (and others). Distilleries, importers, distributors, bars, backage stores are all in it to make money and if the demand for a product doesn't make economic sense then it's only to be expected that they would cease production.

In general I'm with Mr. Kinsey and feel like more mundane things like affordable, mixing-grade bonded ryes and geneveres are more important than something like Forbidden Fruit (not that I won't be buying some). I think there is a misunderstanding in the corporate liquor world over what drove the resurgence of rye whiskey, as embodied by the ri1 from Beam: we all grew to love it because it was different and old-fashioned and cheap and versatile and and and...but they market it as some kind of hipster drink meant to appeal to people who do things only because nobody else does. Those kinds of marketing strategies make introducing people to cocktails more difficult, I think.

This is probably the best time in history to be a home hobbyist bartender though, or to be a discriminating drinker in a bigger city. The problem now isn't so much that people can't get a good drink: it's that they don't know or care that they should want one.

Just my 2 dashes.

[Splificator]

I will happily wave goodbye to Batavia Arrack though.  Can't stand the stuff.

Don't say that! There are those of us to whom the stuff is an essential staple. It was hard enough to get it back. I'd rather not have to have a case of it airfreighted over from Germany every time I want to mix up a bowl of Regent's Punch. A bowl here and a bowl there and soon you're spending real money.

That said, Jonathan Swift couldn't stand the stuff either, so you're in good company.

←

I suspected this would get your attention (embarrassing ...). Every time I think about how much I hate arrack I have to come to terms with the fact that I'm disappointing Dave Wondrich - no joke, I think of you every time it comes up. I call it the cilantro of spirits. But I got over my cilantro aversion by eating a ton of it in Mexico. Regent's Punch, you say?

←

Well, see, I feel partly responsible for your being forced to drink the stuff, and it makes me defensive.

Seriously, though, batavia arrack is not something to be splashed around lightly. I barely use it myself, except when I'm making one or two specific drinks, and even then it's always accompanied by citrus juice, sugar, perhaps another liquor or two (invariably old fashioned Jamaican-style rum, as detailed above by Sam, and maybe a little cognac), and lots of water, or, of course, champagne.

And really, do try a bowl of Regent's Punch some time. You can barely taste the arrack--it's there to add depth of flavor and keep things from being insipid, more than to blow your sinuses out.

Many of these ingredients we're discussing here suffer from the same problem as the Arrack: they're pungent and not very versatile, so when people splash them about liberally and inflict them on their friends and customers for novelty's sake, pretty soon the novelty wears off and then some real aversions have been created.

Back in the day, (as has been observed) there were, e.g., very few drinks that called for creme de violette, and fewer that were at all popular (the Blue Moon and--well, that wasn't even very popular, and that was about the leader). To have it as an unusual accent is a wonderful thing; as a staple, less so.

Put me down for more ryes, more genevers and more base spirits in general. And yes, a clone of Medford rum would be nice. But nothing comes before peach brandy, distilled off the crushed kernels and left to slumber in the wood.

More Japanese whiskeys would be really nice as well--I'd rather have Nikka here than any number of floral liqueurs.

[mkayahara]

Is it safe to add Domaine de Canton to the list of trendy resurgences? Also Cynar, though I suppose that could fall under the already-mentioned category of amari.

One thing I'd like to see is a Canadian-produced straight rye whisky in the American style. Not because it's necessarily historically accurate, but because it might mean I'd have access to rye without having to cross an international border.

Edited to add: On second thought, maybe it would be enough to see the revival of an older incarnation of Canadian whisky. I've never had a vintage bottle, but by reputation the category used to be a lot more interesting than it is now.

Edited August 19, 2009 by mkayahara (log)

[Vieux Carré]

I use Creme de Violet almost exclusively in one drink--the Aviation. For some reason I think it makes a very good drink into an exceptional drink. It has become almost an "essential" ingredient for my Aviation and so I do want it on hand even if I don't use it in much else.

[daisy17]

Seriously, though, batavia arrack is not something to be splashed around lightly. I barely use it myself, except when I'm making one or two specific drinks, and even then it's always accompanied by citrus juice, sugar, perhaps another liquor or two (invariably old fashioned Jamaican-style rum, as detailed above by Sam, and maybe a little cognac), and lots of water, or, of course, champagne.

And really, do try a bowl of Regent's Punch some time. You can barely taste the arrack--it's there to add depth of flavor and keep things from being insipid, more than to blow your sinuses out.

←

Perfect time for an arrack challenge - a few of us are heading to Death & Co next week for punch. I promise to try it again.

[KD1191]

This thread has got me somewhat obsessed with Peach Brandy...

I found these over in the Punch thread:

As Mr. Wondrich explains in Imbibe!, the peach brandy called for in the original was more akin to an applejack than a peach schnapps. In other words, a barrel-aged distillate of peaches and their kernels. Modern "peach brandy" is made by flavoring grape brandy with peaches and sweetening it.

One other possibility would be to do something like roasting some peaches, crushing the kernels, and infusing them into something like Laird's bonded.

I recall reading about it in Imbibe! and thinking it was unfortunate that it was no longer made, but I guess I didn't quite understand what we were missing at the time, because I hadn't had good applejack when I read the book. Now, 'peachjack' is right up there near the top of my list.

I'm wondering, has anyone tried Leopold's Peach Whiskey? They discard the kernels, which I assume results in a major departure from the flavor of historical Peach Brandy. It does have a wonderfully deep peach flavor, but I found it quite sweet. That may have something to do with it being only 70 proof (iirc). Is it something that would be closer to the historical product than modern peach liqueurs and eaux de vie?

[db_campbell]

I'm wondering, has anyone tried Leopold's Peach Whiskey?  They discard the kernels, which I assume results in a major departure from the flavor of historical Peach Brandy.  It does have a wonderfully deep peach flavor, but I found it quite sweet.  That may have something to do with it being only 70 proof (iirc).  Is it something that would be closer to the historical product than modern peach liqueurs and eaux de vie?

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I was able to procure a bottle last summer; it's been a while since I've tasted it neat, but I seem to recall it having what I can best describe as a darker-toned medicinal character. I primarily use it as a fractional supplement to the base spirit in mint juleps.

[Chris Amirault]

One thing that strikes me about many of these ingredients (other than the thanks we owe Eric Seed) is the extent to which these have experienced a fairly rapid rise and subsequently rapid decline in cocktailian popularity -- except Laird's bonded, which is really in a separate category because it is a base spirit.

...

In other cases, I think it has resulted from short-sighted overpricing by the manufacturers.  Plymouth could be making a lot more money off their Sloe Gin by selling it at half what they sell it for now and moving three times more volume.  This is a product that really can be used in large quantities as a base, or in smaller quantities as a reasonably unobtrusive "background booster" of red fruit.  But at the incredibly high prices they are asking for the stuff (more than Cointreau!), bartenders and home cocktailians are reduced to holding on to a few precious bottles and stingily measuring it out into a few drinks every now and again.

←

I think that this is an excellent point, and it could apply to a wide variety of items besides Plymouth Sloe Gin.

And, to add a voice from the non-NYC northeast, here in Providence we still cannot get many of these items consistently or at all. And finding them overrepresented on a restaurant's cocktail menu? I wish we had that problem....

[David Santucci]

If Haus Alpenz's Swedish Punsch is anythng like the Carlshamn's I have hidden in the deep, deep recesses of my liquor cabinet, I will be jumping for joy. Is Swedish Punsch super-versatile, probably not, I have never had it as anything but a "treat". But for me it is closer to Benedictine/Chartreuse usefulness than the Ginger/Allspice/Flower crowd. And I can't imagine ever getting sick of the combo of White Rum/Applejack/Swedish Punsch.

Peach Brandy is at the top of my list, like everyone else, but while we're at it -- how `bout more aged eaux de vie? +1 for "more base spirits".

One thing I would really like to see is Cask Strength Tequila, at a price I can afford to drink. More high-proof spirits in general. Especially Cognac.

I would also be interested in tasting some high proof, unaged grape brandies.

I think a cactus fruit liqueur/syrup could be fun to play with, especially given the current popularity of Tequila in cocktails. A decent, popularly-priced Mezcal would be great too.

I think aromatic/fortified wines as a category could provide a lot of intrigue too. We have, what, half a dozen popular products in this category, and how many interesting wines in the world? Do the math.

Sweeteners category seems to have some room for improvement too. I brought back two very interesting agave nectars from Mexico this trip -- all the ones I have tried here have been insipid. Other Orgeat-like products could be really cool. Lots of cool honeys out there too.

Oh, and I want to get one of those bottles of whiskey with a cobra in it, just to freak people out.